(no subject)

[ravencallscrows]

Well, after much discussion, we've decided on what language alexander's going to learn as his second. The finalists were French, Gaelic, German, Japanese, Latin and Russian.
French got dropped because i'm not that interested in brushing the language up, Gaelic because i'm not competent enough in it to be able to teach it yet. This left four candidates. Of these, Japanese and Russian were eliminated because of the character sets- although he's reading at about a second-grade (or slightly higher) level, the concept that 'B/b' is sometimes "bee" like the visually somewhat dissimilar 'Б/б', but that the visually similar 'В/в' is "veh" might just be too confusing at this point. Russian will probably be his third language, though, although - i'm thinking about waiting until he's seven or so to start on it.
Latin would be useful for building vocabulary, and would help with future Romance languages, but has limited practical use otherwise, and certainly isn't going to be a conversational language for him.
So.... German it is. English is a Germanic language, so he'll benefit from some cognates, which will make initial learning a bit easier. My German's a bit rusty from disuse, but i think i can still follow Deutsche Welle news broadcasts- will have to look at the broadcast schedule for the International Channel to see when it's on to verify this.
Bonus points to the first person to recognize the source of the following quote (although i find the use of the familiar du/deine rather than the formal/plural Sie/seine a bit unsettling, and it's exceedingly likely i've goofed the transcription in at least one place.)
Das ist deine Welt.
Deises sind deine Mittmenschen.
Du kannst heute für dich lebe
Oder für alles Hilfe Bau morgen aufbau....

Comments

That's GREAT, but don't wait...

[mspurplepearl.livejournal.com]

All the evidence shows that the sooner you start teaching it to him, the better grasp he will have of it later in life. Small children are hard wired for language: I am sure you know all this... I regret not knowing any other languages enough to teach my seven year old something other than the horribly frustrating, confusing language of my birth. I have a talent for languages, but never stuck with any one of them long enough. {Two years Spanish, one German, three French... lots of medical terminology for my Latin... you get the drift.}

Try starting him on his third language as a "spoken-only" language. In other words teach him to speak and comprehend it now, and teach him the written language later: when he is better able to discern the difference between "bee" and "veh".

In any case, the more you can squeeze in that huge capacity of a brain your child is carrying around on his shoulders, the more he will benefit later in life when the filing cabinet starts filling.
~_^

Capisce?

Pearl

[s33kr.livejournal.com]

Hey, I will look around for some German books at the library I work at. I am sure there are some German/English kid books here. So, when they put me in the back room with deleted books, I can actually bring some home.

[revseandoe.livejournal.com]

You know what language I'd teach him. t'hrat'ngan hol.

As long as the boy can curse fluently in a few different languages.

Re:

[wingedelf.livejournal.com]

jIyaj! Find me a Klingon grammar and i'll be tempted!
For that matter, find a comprehensive tlhIngan Hol -Federation Standard dictionary...
Victoria, any ideas? Or does your mother have a smooth forehead? *grin*